Rule 19H of the Patents Rules, 2003
Fees payable to Examining Authority
Rule 19H governs the fees payable when international preliminary examination is demanded before the Indian examining authority.
Official legal text
The verbatim statutory text of this provision is reproduced from the official source and checked by our legal reviewer before it is published here. Until that check is complete for this page, read the exact wording directly from the official source linked below — it is the only version that governs.
Treat this page as a guide. The provision as officially published, along with the Gazette notifications that apply to it, remains the governing text and overrides any simplification here.
What this rule requires, step by step
A demand for international preliminary examination carries two separate fees, and they go to two different places. The preliminary examination fee is the charge of the authority that will do the work, which for the Indian office is set out in the First Schedule to the Patents Rules and is payable in rupees. The handling fee is collected for the International Bureau, which administers the international phase, and it is fixed under the Treaty. Rule 19H is the provision that requires both to be paid to the examining authority and that ties their amounts to the prescribed schedules rather than to the rule itself.
Keeping amounts out of the rule is deliberate. Fee tables are revised from time to time, and the international fee is subject to currency equivalents that are periodically adjusted. This site therefore never states a figure. Look up the current First Schedule for the Indian fee and the current fee tables under the Treaty for the handling fee before you make a payment, and treat any figure you find in an article, a template or an old file as unreliable.
The Indian fee structure is tiered by who the applicant is. Natural persons, recognised startups, small entities and educational institutions pay lower rates than other applicants, and where two or more people apply together, every applicant must qualify before the lower rate can be claimed. If a startup files jointly with a large company, the standard rate applies to the whole filing. Entities that later outgrow their category should expect the difference to be payable at some point.
Timing is as important as amount. The fees must reach the authority within the period allowed, which is measured from the filing of the demand or from the priority date under the Treaty Regulations. If nothing is paid, or less than the correct amount is paid, the authority invites the applicant to pay what is due, usually with a late payment charge. If that invitation is not answered, the demand is treated as if it had never been made, and the money already spent on preparing amendments and arguments is wasted. Refunds are possible only in the narrow circumstances allowed, which for the Indian authority are dealt with in Rule 19N.
The practical lesson is the same one that runs through Indian patent procedure. A filing is complete when the money has actually arrived, not when the form was uploaded. Pay early, keep the receipt, and check the account statement rather than assuming a transaction that appeared to go through actually did.
Why this rule matters
Applicants demanding international preliminary examination in India, especially individuals, startups and institutions eligible for reduced rates.
At the time the demand is filed and during the short period allowed for payment afterwards.
An obligation to pay a preliminary examination fee to the authority and a handling fee for the International Bureau, at the prescribed rates.
The authority invites payment with a late charge and, if that is ignored, treats the demand as never made, so Chapter II is lost.
How it works in practice
A demand undone by a short payment
Chandra Agritech Pvt Ltd of Belagavi filed a demand for international preliminary examination together with carefully drafted amendments narrowing its claims on a drip irrigation valve. Its accounts team paid the Indian preliminary examination fee at the reduced small entity rate but overlooked the handling fee collected for the International Bureau. The authority issued an invitation to pay the outstanding amount with a late payment charge, sending it to the address on record. The company's agent was travelling and the invitation was not actioned. When the period expired, the demand was treated as if it had never been made. The amendments prepared for the international phase had to be redone country by country during national phase examination, at several times the cost. The claims eventually granted in three countries, but a fee that had been overlooked for a few weeks turned a single central process into three separate ones.
Simplified illustration only. Actual legal outcomes depend on the facts.
Key points to remember
- Two fees arise on a demand: the preliminary examination fee for the authority and the handling fee for the International Bureau.
- The Indian fee is in the First Schedule to the Patents Rules; the handling fee is fixed under the Treaty.
- Amounts change from time to time, so always check the current schedules before paying.
- Reduced Indian rates apply to natural persons, startups, small entities and educational institutions, and every joint applicant must qualify.
- Fees must be paid within the period allowed; short payment triggers an invitation, usually with a late charge.
- If the invitation is not answered, the demand is treated as never having been made.
- Refunds are limited and are dealt with in Rule 19N.
Common mistakes and misunderstandings
- Paying the examination fee and forgetting the handling fee, which is a separate charge for a separate body.
- Claiming a reduced rate where one joint applicant does not qualify, which makes the whole filing payable at the standard rate.
- Relying on a fee figure from an old file or a blog instead of the current schedule.
Connected provisions
Rules and sections are cited differently and amended differently. On a rule page the connected sections are therefore kept in a separate list, so that a reader quoting this material can attribute each requirement to the correct instrument.
Forms, deadlines and fees
- The preliminary examination and handling fees must be paid within the period allowed under the Treaty Regulations, measured from the filing of the demand or from the priority date; check the current Regulations for the exact period.
- Where an invitation to pay an outstanding or short-paid fee is issued, it must be answered within the period stated in that invitation, or the demand is treated as not made.
Open the deadline calculator — and have every date confirmed against the current Rules before you rely on it.
This site does not carry a fee table. The First Schedule to the Patents Rules is the source, the rates vary with the applicant's category and with the mode of filing, and a figure quoted second-hand goes out of date quietly. How Indian patent fees work.
Related judgments
Case law is added slowly and deliberately. A summary is drafted, checked against the reported judgment and then reviewed before publication, because a wrong case note can mislead a reader badly. No summary for this provision has reached publication yet. How case notes are prepared.
Questions people ask about Rule 19H
What fees do I pay when demanding international preliminary examination?
Two. The preliminary examination fee goes to the authority that will carry out the examination, and for the Indian office it is set out in the First Schedule to the Patents Rules. The handling fee is collected for the International Bureau under the Treaty. Both are paid to the examining authority. Neither amount appears in Rule 19H itself, because the schedules are revised periodically, so always check the current tables before you transfer money.
Do startups and individuals get a fee reduction?
For the Indian office's own fees, yes. The First Schedule sets lower rates for natural persons, recognised startups, small entities and educational institutions, with proof of status filed as required. Where an application is filed jointly, every applicant must qualify for the lower rate; one large co-applicant means the standard rate applies to the whole filing. The handling fee collected for the International Bureau follows the Treaty's own fee tables and reductions, which are a separate matter.
What if I pay the wrong amount or pay late?
The authority will normally invite you to pay what is outstanding, usually together with a late payment charge, and give you a short period to do so. If that invitation is not answered in time, the demand is considered not to have been submitted and the Chapter II process falls away. The application itself survives and can still enter the national phase, but the central amendment opportunity is gone. Refunds of amounts already paid are limited and are governed by Rule 19N.
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